Method of initializing a cloud computing appliance

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a cloud computing appliance, having a chassis, at least one server, capable of connecting to a remote interface device, at least two network switches, at least one firewall, and a power supply circuit. The present invention also includes a method for initializing the cloud computing appliance, and a method for migrating software applications to the cloud computing appliance. The cloud computing appliance includes at least one private cloud and is in electronic communication with at least one public cloud. There is an electrical connection capable of being in electronic communication with the remote interface device that allows a system administrator to interact with the at least one private cloud and the at least one public cloud.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of prior U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/946,585, filed Jul. 19, 2013 entitled “Cloud Computing ApplianceThat Accesses a Private Cloud and a Public Cloud and an AssociatedMethod Of Use”, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/360,157 filed Jan. 27, 2012 entitled “Transportable Private CloudComputing Platform and Associated Method of Use” and is now U.S. Pat.No. 9,213,580 that issued Dec. 15, 2015, which is also incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to cloud computing and inparticular to system administrator assisted creation, operation, andmanagement of a private cloud application that is electroniccommunication with a public cloud.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than aproduct, whereby resources, software, and information are provided tocomputers and other devices as a utility over a network. Typically,cloud computing services are offered by cloud computing serviceproviders on a pay-per-usage basis. Cloud computing has evolved intomultiple deployment models, including public clouds, community clouds,and private clouds. A “public cloud” is a model where a service providermakes resources, such as software applications and storage, available tothe general public. A “private cloud” is infrastructure operated solelyfor a single organization or restricted group of users. A “privatecloud” may be hosted by a third party or hosted internally or externallyby the specific community whether managed internally or by a third-partyand hosted internally or externally by the single organization orrestricted group of users. A “community cloud” shares infrastructurebetween several organizations from a specific community with commonconcerns.

There are a number of challenges associated with relying solely on apublic cloud computing environment or a community cloud computingenvironment. First, data governance is hindered by the use of a publiccloud or community computing providers that may or may not guarantee thesafety and security of data stored in the provider's cloud. Second,public computing providers lack resource management capabilities whichallow a system administrator to scale resource utilization based onserver load and software application usage. Third, network latencyassociated with using a public cloud or community computing environmentmay make the cloud sluggish and cumbersome. Fourth, systemadministrators may find themselves at the mercy of a public cloud orcommunity computing provider because of poor reliability or lowavailability. Finally, there remains the looming issue of security onthe virtual servers that make up the public environment or communityenvironment. For these reasons, a system administrator is well-advisedto seek a private cloud solution in an attempt to overcome some or allof these challenges associated with relying solely on a public cloud orcommunity cloud computing environment. However, a private cloud does notprovide all of the computing resources that may be needed or desired.There may be programs and data that do not require the highest level ofsecurity that is provided by a private cloud or community cloud.Moreover, it is important to have a backup for data and/or softwareapplications for backup in the event of a system failure or emergency.

The creation of a cloud solution requires a knowledge set not normallyavailable to the average system administrator. The implementationprocess may be a timely and frustrating process replete withopportunities for making mistakes or introduction of errors, which willterminate the process or lead to a less than optimal cloud instance. Forthese reasons, a straight forward method of initializing and creating astand-alone cloud computing appliance is desirable.

Once a private cloud solution has been created, system administratorsneed the capability of migrating software applications to the cloud inorder to make use of the available cloud resources. Traditionally, asystem administrator takes inventory of local software applications andselects candidates for migration to the cloud. For these reasons, amethod of migrating software applications to a stand-alone cloudcomputing appliance is desirable.

It may also be desirable to create a cloud computing environment in aremote or inhospitable location. Traditional cloud computing serviceproviders would be inadequate due to lack of network connectivity andnetwork latency. A mobile cloud computing platform could be deployed tosuch a location and a private cloud environment in combination with apublic cloud environment could be utilized to provide cloud services toa remote or inhospitable geographic area.

The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of theproblems set forth above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not acomprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. Thepresent invention is directed to a cloud computing application thataccesses at least one private cloud and at least one public cloud.

In an aspect of the present invention, a cloud computing appliance isdisclosed. The cloud computing appliance includes a chassis withsufficient storage capacity to hold hardware components necessary tooperate a private cloud and provide electronic communication to a publiccloud, at least one server mounted on the chassis and capable of hostinga private cloud operating system, a plurality of software applicationsand data storage, wherein the at least one server includes a systemmanagement server that utilizes system management software for managingthe cloud computing appliance, the private cloud, the public cloud, andthe software applications, an electrical connection capable of being inelectronic communication with a remote interface device that allows asystem administrator to interact with the private cloud and the publiccloud, wherein the remote interface device provides guidance to thesystem administrator to create and administer the private cloud and isconnected to the at least one server as well as being in electroniccommunication with the public cloud, at least two network switchesmounted on the chassis and in electronic communication between the atleast one server and at least one of the private cloud and the publiccloud, at least one firewall mounted on the chassis in electroniccommunication with the at least two network switches, and at least onepower supply circuit capable of distributing power to the at least oneserver, the at least two network switches and the at least one firewall.

In another aspect of the present invention, a cloud computing applianceis disclosed. The cloud computing appliance includes at least onechassis with sufficient storage capacity to hold hardware componentsnecessary to operate at least one private cloud and provide electroniccommunication to at least one public cloud, a plurality of serversmounted on the rack and capable of hosting a private cloud operatingsystem, software applications and data storage, wherein the plurality ofservers includes a system management server that utilizes systemmanagement software for managing the cloud computing appliance, the atleast one private cloud and the at least one public cloud, and thesoftware applications, an electrical connection capable of being inelectronic communication with a remote interface device that allows asystem administrator to interact with the at least one private cloud andthe at least one public cloud, wherein the remote interface deviceprovides guidance to the system administrator to create and administerthe at least one private cloud that is connected to the plurality ofservers as well as being in electronic communication with the at leastone public cloud, at least one firewall mounted on the chassis inelectronic communication with the private cloud and the public cloud, atleast two network switches mounted on the chassis and in electroniccommunication between the plurality of servers and the at least onefirewall, and at least one power supply circuit capable of distributingpower to the plurality of servers, the at least two network switches,and the at least one firewall, wherein the cloud computing appliance isa self-contained, stand-alone unit.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of initializinga cloud computing appliance is disclosed. The method includes applyingpower to a power supply circuit of a cloud computing appliance, whichalso includes a chassis, an electrical connection that is capable ofbeing in electronic communication with a remote interface device and atleast one private cloud and at least one public cloud, a plurality ofservers, at least one cloud computing operating system, at least twonetwork switches, and a firewall, activating a graphical user interface(GUI) on the remote interface device, utilizing the remote interfacedevice to provide queries to a system administrator to allowinitialization of a private cloud computing operating system associatedwith the at least one private cloud, starting the private cloudcomputing operating system, utilizing the remote interface device torequest required keys from a system administrator, initiating a privatecloud operating system virtualizer, utilizing the remote interfacedevice to allow a system administrator to enter an internet protocol(IP) range of addresses, each of the internet protocol (IP) addressesrepresenting one of the plurality of servers, to be integrated into theprivate cloud, locating and initializing, if not already initialized,each system administrator-selected server with the selected privatecloud computing operating system, incorporating the physical resourcesof each server of the plurality of servers into the private cloud,utilizing the remote interface device to provide queries to the systemadministrator so that virtual server information is entered, creatingvirtual servers for the at least one private cloud, and selectivelyaccessing the at least one public cloud for accessing at least onesoftware application and a database.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of migratingsoftware applications to a cloud computing appliance is disclosed. Themethod includes utilizing a remote interface device to allow a systemadministrator to invoke a software application migration system for thecloud computing appliance that is in electronic communication to atleast one public cloud and at least one private cloud, searching forsoftware applications that are available to be migrated to the at leastone private cloud, presenting a list of software applications that areavailable to be migrated to the at least one private cloud, selecting asoftware application from the list of software applications that areavailable to be migrated to the at least one private cloud, the selectedsoftware application becoming the migrating software application,resourcing the correct virtual server configuration on the private cloudcomputing platform to accommodate the migrating software application,migrating the migrating software application to the at least one privatecloud, and migrating any software application data of the migratingsoftware application to the at least one private cloud, wherein theprivate cloud computing platform is transportable, wherein the cloudcomputing appliance is a self-contained, stand-alone unit.

These are merely some of the innumerable aspects of the presentinvention and should not be deemed an all-inclusive listing of theinnumerable aspects associated with the present invention. These andother aspects will become apparent to those skilled in the art in lightof the following disclosure and accompanying drawings. The descriptionand specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes ofillustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only ofselected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For a betterunderstanding of the present invention, reference may be made to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a front elevation view and rear elevation view,respectively, of a preferred illustrative, but non-limiting, embodimentof a cloud computing appliance that accesses a private cloud and apublic cloud in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top down view of a preferred illustrative, but non-limiting,embodiment of a of a cloud computing appliance that accesses a privatecloud and a public cloud that shows at least two switches and at leastone firewall in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of an interface device in addition tothe cloud computing appliance shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of a cloud computing appliance mountedin a removably attached transit case having a plurality of wheels formoving the cloud computing appliance in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the cloud computing appliance of thepresent invention that is connected to a public cloud and an optionalcommunity cloud;

FIG. 6 illustrates a table with representative software components of acloud computing appliance in accordance with the present invention thatis in electronic communication with both a private cloud and a publiccloud;

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of a cloud computing applianceinitialization process in accordance with the present invention that isin electronic communication with both a private cloud and a publiccloud;

FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a cloud computing appliance softwareapplication migration process in accordance with the present inventionthat is in electronic communication with both a private cloud and apublic cloud; and

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of a cloud computing appliance combinedsequential process in accordance with the present invention that is inelectronic communication with both a private cloud and a public cloud.

Reference characters in the written specification indicate correspondingitems shown throughout the drawing figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention.However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that thepresent invention may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components, e.g.,devices, have not been described in detail so as to obscure the presentinvention.

The following list of definitions are provided in order to ensure aconsistent understanding of terms used throughout this disclosure: a“system administrator” is a person who interfaces with the transportablecloud computing appliance to instantiate and configure a cloud computingenvironment as well as manage and maintain the resources of the cloud; a“user” is a person or entity that connects to the transportable privatecloud computing platform and utilizes cloud computing resources.Optimally, this transportable cloud computing appliance is in electroniccommunication with both a private cloud as well as a public cloud. Theremay also be electronic communication with a community cloud instead ofor in addition to the public cloud. The combination of more than onetype of cloud is known as “hybrid cloud” types of systems.

An illustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment of a cloud computingappliance in accordance with the principles of this invention isindicated generally as 100 in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The cloud computingappliance 100 has at least one chassis 101 with sufficient storagecapacity to hold the hardware components or devices necessary to run aprivate cloud instance that is in electronic communication with a publiccloud, as described below. In the illustrative, but nonlimiting,embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the at least one chassis 101 is asixteen (16) RU chassis. The cloud computing appliance 100 has at leastone server 102 mounted on the at least one chassis 101 and capable ofhosting cloud operating systems for at least one private cloud that isin electronic communication with at least one public cloud, softwareapplications and data storage.

In the illustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A and1B, a rear view of the cloud computing appliance in accordance with theprinciples of this invention is indicated generally by numeral 100. Theplurality of server nodes 102 can vary in number and preferably, but notnecessarily, include four (4) servers. An illustrative, but nonlimitingexample of a server 102 includes 1U x86 node servers with dual socketmotherboards. Each 1U x86 server has one (1) CPU with a minimum of four(4) cores, a minimum of thirty-two (32) Gigabytes (GB) of memory up toat least five hundred twelve (512) terabytes (TB) of attached storage upto at least six terabytes (TB) of attached storage, and at least four(4) gigabytes (GB) Network Interface Cards (NICs).

The cloud computing appliance 100 has an electrical connection, e.g.,port, 303, as shown in FIG. 3, where the user can connect an interfacedevice 301 that allows a system administrator to interact with a privatecloud 501, as shown in FIG. 5, and the cloud operating system andgraphical user interface (GUI) provides guidance to the systemadministrator to create and administer a fully configured andoperational private cloud 501 that is in electronic communication with apublic cloud 502, as also shown in FIG. 5. The interface device 301 asshown in FIG. 3 not provided may also be referred to as an “interfacecomponent” that facilitates input and output and is preferably, but notnecessarily, located away from the cloud computing appliance 100functioning as a remote interface device 301. A wide variety of devicesmay suffice for the interface device 301, which includes, but is notlimited to, the remote interface device that includes at least one of akeyboard, a video display, a mouse (KVM) switch, and a graphical userinterface (GUI).

The cloud computing appliance 100 has at least two network switches 202and at least one firewall 201 mounted and housed in the shelf 200electrically connected to a power supply 107 shown in FIG. 2. In theillustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment, the at least two networkswitches 202 may include eight (8) port Gigabit Ethernet Switches 202with one (1) eight (8) port Firewall 201 utilizing one (1) Gigabitup-links. The cloud computing appliance 100 includes a power supplycircuit 107, shown in FIG. 2, that preferably, but not necessarily, hastwo (2) power supply circuits capable of distributing power to thecomponents of the cloud computing appliance 100. In the illustrative,but nonlimiting, embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the power supply circuit107 is a universal power supply (UPS).

An important aspect of the cloud computing appliance 100 is that all ofthe above referenced components and/or devices necessary to create aprivate cloud 501 that is in electronic communication with a publiccloud 502 are bundled into a singular unit, and that singular unit istransportable. The “transportable” aspect of the private-hybrid cloudappliance 100 is that it be movable as a singular unit. For example, itis not necessary to strip the components and/or devices from the atleast one chassis 101 before moving the cloud computing appliance 100.

The cloud computing appliance 100 may optionally provide one or moreprivate clouds 501 as virtual machine instances both located on thechassis 101 and one or more private clouds 501 located remotely awayfrom the cloud computing appliance 100. The cloud computing appliance100 provides the infrastructure necessary to operate one or more privateclouds 501 for a single small organization or restricted group of users.As such, the cloud computing appliance 100 will have access controls inplace to restrict access to the private cloud 501, which is inelectronic communication with at least one public cloud 502, to alimited number of users.

The cloud computing appliance 100 is a computing platform, meaning thatit has the hardware architecture and a software framework necessary toinstantiate and run at least one instance of a private cloud 501 that isin electronic communication with a public cloud 502. The specific formof the hardware architecture and software framework of a cloud computingappliance 100 may vary tremendously, with an illustrative, butnonlimiting example provided in detail below.

The interface device 301 may also take on many forms. A graphical userinterface (GUI) that can be utilized with the system management server,which is generally indicated by numeral 104 in FIGS. 1A and 1B, may bethe same graphical user interface (GUI) that is used for the interfacedevice 301. A system administrator can utilize the interface device 301,as shown in FIG. 3 and is preferably remote, where the interface devicecan include a keyboard, a video display, a mouse (KVM) switch, and agraphical user interface (GUI).

The power supply circuit 107, shown in FIG. 2, may also take on manyforms. In a preferred illustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment, thepower supply circuit 107 is an uninterruptable power supply. In anotherillustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment, the power supply circuit isstandard 110-volt alternating current (AC) circuit fed through astandard power cord. In another illustrative, but nonlimiting,embodiment, there are several redundant 110-volt alternating current(AC) plugs. There are numerous types of power supplies that may sufficefor this type of application.

In an illustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment, the cloud computingappliance 100 has a removably attached mobility mechanism to allow forease of mobility. An illustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment of themobility mechanism 403 is shown in FIG. 4. The removably attachedmobility mechanism 403, as shown in FIG. 4, preferably, but notnecessarily, includes a case 405 with a set of four (4) wheels 401. Theremovably attached mobility mechanism 403 could be in the form ofwheels, rollers, an amphibious hull, or any other mechanism that willallow the cloud computing appliance 100 to be moved without lifting.

In an illustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment, the cloud computingappliance 100 includes a private cloud 501 that is connected to a publiccloud 502 and optionally may also be connected to a community cloud 504in addition to or in lieu of the public cloud 502, as shown in FIG. 5.The connection is limited so that the cloud computing appliance 100 mayexchange data with the public cloud 502 and/or community cloud 504, butis not part of the public cloud 502 or community cloud 504. Preferably,the cloud computing appliance 100 is deployed and is connected to apublic cloud 502 in order to query a database 503 in the public cloud502. The community cloud 504 may also include a database 505.

In order to be operational, the cloud computing appliance 100 must havesoftware installed to enable it to perform the functions ofinstantiating a private cloud 501 in addition to being in electroniccommunication with at least one public cloud 502. This includesmigrating software applications to the private cloud 501, and managingresources of the private cloud 501.

FIG. 6 is a table of representative software components. Most, if notall, of these software components may be current off-the-shelf software(COTS), however, custom proprietary software can be utilized. Thegraphical user interface (GUI) 601 is a software component that, amongother things, allows the system administrator to interact with the cloudcomputing appliance 100. The cloud operating system 602 is a softwarecomponent that, among other things, allows a system administrator tomanage the private-hybrid cloud instance. The environment discovery tool603 is a software component that, among other things, allows a systemadministrator to discover the servers and software that are part of thenetwork to which the cloud computing appliance 100 is in electroniccommunication. The migration software 604 is a software component that,among other things, allows a system administrator to identify andmigrate physical servers and virtual servers into the cloud computingappliance 100 turning them into virtual instances to establish one ormore private clouds 501.

The methods of initializing the cloud computing appliance 100 andmigrating software applications to the cloud computing appliance 100will now be discussed with reference to the flowcharts in FIG. 7 andFIG. 8, respectively. In the description of the flowcharts, thefunctional explanation marked with numerals in angle braces, <nnn>, willrefer to the flowchart blocks bearing that number.

A feature of the cloud computing appliance 100 is that the interfacedevice 301, which is preferably remote and not attached to the cloudcomputing appliance 100 but provides electronic communication thereto,provides step-by-step guidance via the graphical user interface (GUI)601 to enable a novice system administrator with no cloud technicalexperience to create a fully configured and operational private cloud501 that is in electronic communication with at least one public cloud502, administer the private cloud 501 and electronic communication tothe public cloud 502, allocate virtual servers, migrate physical andvirtual servers with application and data and manage the private cloud501 that is in electronic communication with at least one public cloud502. The method of initializing the cloud computing appliance 100 isshown in FIG. 7. The cloud initialization process starts <701> when thesystem administrator applies power to a power supply circuit 107 of theprivate cloud 501 <702>, which activates the graphical user interface(GUI) 601 of the interface device 301 <703>. The graphical userinterface (GUI) 601 then prompts the system administrator to inputrequired keys <704>, e.g., user identification (ID) and password,resulting in the system administrator being logged into the graphicaluser interface (GUI) 601 <705>.

The cloud operating system is started or initiated <706> resulting inthe initialization of the cloud computing appliance <707>. The graphicaluser interface (GUI) 601 then prompts the system administrator to enterthe internet protocol (IP) range of the plurality of servers 102, andthe cloud operating system finds each of the plurality of servers 102and initializes with the selected cloud computing operating system if ithasn't already been initialized. The physical resources of each serverof the plurality of servers 102 is then incorporated into the privatecloud 501 <708>. The graphical user interface (GUI) 601 then prompts thesystem administrator to provide virtual server information <709>, andthe cloud operating system creates the virtual servers <710>. Once thevirtual servers have been created, the method of initializing the cloudcomputing appliance 100 is complete <711>.

In an illustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment of the method ofinitializing the cloud computing appliance 100, the system administratoris required to authenticate after the graphical user interface (GUI) 601of the interface device 301 is activated. The system administrator mustprovide valid credentials before the graphical user interface (GUI) 601will present the system administrator with a choice of cloud operatingsystems.

In an illustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment of the method ofinitializing the cloud computing appliance 100, the system administratoris presented with a list of internet protocol (IP) addresses, each ofthe internet protocol (IP) addresses representing one of the pluralityof servers 102, to be integrated into the private cloud 501.

In an illustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment of the method ofinitializing cloud computing appliance 100, the system administrator isallowed to manually add or remove available cloud appliance resources.

A feature of the cloud computing appliance 100 is that the interfacedevice 301 provides step-by-step automated assistance to a novice systemadministrator with running software applications in the execution of anautomated assessment of a target physical server to determine whatconfiguration a virtual server will need to run the softwareapplication, establish a correctly configured virtual server instance,and migrate the physical server application to the virtual serverinstance. It is envisioned that the method of migrating softwareapplications to the cloud computing appliance 100 may be performed atany time after the cloud computing appliance 100 has been initialized.

The method of migrating software applications to the cloud computingappliance 100 is shown in FIG. 8. The cloud software applicationmigration process starts <801> when a system administrator utilizes theinterface device 301 to invoke a software application migration system.The software application migration system is normally built into thegraphical user interface (GUI) 601, as part of the interface device 301,but it could be embodied in software, preferably commercial off-theshelf (COTS) software but could be proprietary software. The softwareapplication migration system offers software application migrationoptions to the system administrator <802>. The system administrator isguided by the software application migration system to search forsoftware applications that are available to be migrated to the cloudcomputing appliance 100. In particular, the system administrator mayidentify the internet protocol (IP) address of a server to be evaluated<803> for software applications to migrate.

However, the software application migration system may automaticallysearch for and select a server 102 for evaluation. Once the server 102has been identified, the software application migration system searchesfor software applications that are candidates for migration <804>. Thesoftware application migration system evaluates each of these candidatesfor migration <805>, and additional information may be queried from thesystem administrator <806> to facilitate the evaluation process. Thesoftware application migration system presents a list of systems thatare available to be migrated <807>, and the software applicationmigration system resources the correct virtual server configuration onthe cloud computing appliance 100 to accommodate the migrating softwareapplication <808>. The system administrator then selects a softwareapplication from the list to be migrated to the cloud computingappliance 100 <809>. Once a software application is selected by thesystem administrator <809>, the software application migration systemthen migrates the migrating software application to a virtual server onthe cloud computing appliance 100 <810>. The application data is alsomigrated to the virtual server on the cloud computing appliance 100<811>. The correct network connectivity is then created <812>. Theapplication, data and the network are then tested <813>.

The graphical user interface (GUI) 601 then presents a list of softwareapplications to be migrated from the servers 102 <814>. In addition,this process may be repeated if there are more servers 102 to evaluatefor software applications to migrate <815> with the process returning tostep <807>. Once all desired servers 102 have been evaluated and alldesired software applications have been migrated from those servers 102,the method of migrating software applications to the cloud computingappliance 100 that is in electronic communication with at least onepublic cloud 502 is complete <816>.

Preferably, the test of the application, data, and network connectivity<812> occurs before migration is complete. In another illustrative, butnonlimiting, embodiment, the software application migration system isfully automated and does not require human interaction with theinterface device 301 so that migration is an automatic process.

The method of initializing the cloud computing appliance 100 and methodof migrating software applications to the cloud computing appliance 100may be performed in sequence, as shown in FIG. 9. In FIG. 9, the methodof initializing the cloud computing appliance 100 is performed first,followed immediately by the method of migrating software applications tothe cloud computing appliance 100.

In an illustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment as shown in FIG. 9, themethod of initializing the cloud computing appliance 100 and method ofmigrating software applications to the cloud computing appliance 100 areperformed in sequence with the method of initializing the transportablecloud computing platform 100 is performed first, followed immediately bythe method of migrating software applications to the cloud computingappliance 100.

The combined sequential process starts <901> when the systemadministrator applies power to a power supply circuit 107 of the cloudcomputing appliance 100 <902>, which activates the graphical userinterface (GUI) 601 of the interface device 301 <903>. After thegraphical user interface (GUI) 601 of the interface device 301 isactivated, the system administrator is prompted for a useridentification (ID) and password <904> for authentication. Once thesystem administrator enters a valid user identification (ID) andpassword, the system administrator is logged onto the graphical userinterface (GUI) 601 <905>.

After the system administrator has logged onto the graphical userinterface (GUI) 601, the system administrator can activate and start theoperating system <906> to create a private cloud instance. The cloudoperating system finds each of the plurality of servers 102 andinitializes with the selected cloud computing operating system <907>, ifit hasn't already been initialized. The physical resources of eachserver of the plurality of servers 102 is then incorporated into theprivate cloud <908>. The graphical user interface (GUI) 601 then promptsthe system administrator to provide virtual server information <909>,and the cloud operating system creates the virtual servers <910>. Oncethe virtual servers have been created, the method of initializing thecloud computing appliance 100 is complete.

The software application migration system offers software applicationmigration options to the system administrator <911>. The systemadministrator is guided by the software application migration system tosearch for software applications that are available to be migrated tothe cloud computing appliance 100. In particular, the systemadministrator may identify the internet protocol (IP) address of aserver to be evaluated <912> for software applications to migrate.

Once a server 102 has been identified, the software applicationmigration system searches for software applications that are candidatesfor migration <913>. The software application migration system evaluateseach of these candidates for migration <914>, and additional informationmay be queried from the system administrator <915> to facilitate theevaluation process. The graphical user interface (GUI) 601 presents alist of software applications that are available to be migrated <916>,and the system administrator selects a software application from thelist to be migrated to the cloud computing appliance 100 <917>. Once asoftware application is selected by the system administrator, thesoftware application migration system resources the correct virtualserver configuration <918> on the cloud computing appliance 100 toaccommodate the migrating software application. The software applicationmigration system then migrates the migrating software application to avirtual server in the cloud computing appliance 100 <919>. Any softwareapplication data of the migrating software application is also migratedto the cloud computing appliance 100 <920>. The correct networkconnectivity is then created <921>. A test is conducted of the migratingsoftware application, any migrating software application data, and thenetwork <922>, before migration is complete.

The graphical user interface (GUI) 601 then presents a list of remainingapplications that are candidates for migration <923>. If the systemadministrator desires to migrate more applications from the list ofavailable candidates <924>, he or she then selects them from the list<917> and the process continues as previously described above in step<917> downward. If the system administrator decides not to migrate moreapplications or if there are no more available candidate applicationsfor migration <924>, the method of migrating software applications tothe transportable private cloud computing platform 100 is complete.

Finally, the graphical user interface (GUI) 601 will present the systemadministrator with the option of starting a system managementapplication <925>. If the system administrator chooses to start thesystem management application <926>, the system management applicationis initiated <927>. The graphical user interface (GUI) 601 is then sentto the background waiting to be summoned <928>. When summoned, thegraphical user interface (GUI) 601 will present to the systemadministrator the options of launching the application migration systemor launching the system management application <929>. When the systemadministrator is finished migrating applications and adjusting physicalresources, the combined sequential process is complete <930>.

OPERATIONAL EXAMPLE

In an operation example of the cloud computing appliance 100, purchasedby a small business, a small business employee with little traininginstalls the cloud computing appliance 100 in a rack or sets it on atable and initializes the cloud computing appliance 100 by following theguidance of the remote interface device 301. Once the small businessemployee creates a private cloud 501 instance that is in communicationwith at least one public cloud 502 on the cloud computing appliance 100,he or she is able to utilize the software application migration systemto migrate software applications and data from the existing physicalservers of the small business. At this point, the cloud computingappliance 100 is operating as a cloud system, capable of serving all ofthe cloud needs of the small business.

Furthermore, it should be understood that when introducing elements ofthe present invention in the claims or in the above description of theillustrative, but nonlimiting, embodiment of the invention, the terms“have,” “having,” “includes” and “including” and similar terms as usedin the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or“may include” and not as “required.” Similarly, the term “portion”should be construed as meaning some or all of the item or element thatit qualifies.

Thus, there have been shown and described several embodiments of a novelinvention. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspectsof the present invention are not limited by the particular details ofthe examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated thatother modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occurto those skilled in the art. Many changes, modifications, variations andother uses and applications of the present construction will, however,become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering thespecification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes,modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to becovered by the invention which is limited only by the claims thatfollow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of initializing a cloud computingappliance, the method comprising: applying power to a power supplycircuit of a cloud computing appliance, which also includes a chassis,an electrical connection that is capable of being in electroniccommunication with a remote interface device and at least one privatecloud and at least one public cloud, a plurality of servers, at leastone cloud computing operating system, at least two network switches, anda firewall; activating a graphical user interface (GUI) on the remoteinterface device; utilizing the remote interface device to providequeries to a system administrator to allow initialization of a privatecloud computing operating system associated with the at least oneprivate cloud; starting the private cloud computing operating system;utilizing the remote interface device to request required keys from asystem administrator; initiating a private cloud operating systemvirtualizer; utilizing the remote interface device to allow a systemadministrator to enter an internet protocol (IP) range of addresses,each of the internet protocol (IP) addresses representing one of theplurality of servers, to be integrated into the private cloud; locatingand initializing, if not already initialized, each systemadministrator-selected server with the selected private cloud computingoperating system; incorporating the physical resources of each server ofthe plurality of servers into the private cloud; utilizing the remoteinterface device to provide queries to the system administrator so thatvirtual server information is entered; creating virtual servers for theat least one private cloud; and selectively accessing the at least onepublic cloud for accessing at least one software application and adatabase.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein a system administratorauthenticates the cloud computing appliance that is in electriccommunication with the at least one private cloud and the at least onepublic cloud.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein a system administratoris presented with or enters a list of internet protocol (IP) addresses,each of the internet protocol (IP) addresses representing one of theplurality of servers, to be integrated into the at least one privatecloud.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote interface deviceallows a system administrator to add or remove available transportableprivate cloud computing appliance resources.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one public cloud provides back-up support for dataand software located on the at least one private cloud.